Cycle 9
Your Death March in April
The bloody battle raged on as the demon-ruined matron was assaulted from all angles. Each side trading blows equally. Though, through sheer tenacity and teamwork, the Astorean expedition, did in fact, come out on top as their attack on the head distracted the insect giant from retaliating against the team that targeted the back and the legs.
More than a handful of the people who attempted to hinder the matron's legs ended up getting crushed by its furious stomps and deadly tail sweeps, some of
you were among them. Painful as it was, your efforts did end up felling the titan, who smashed into the center of the cone pit with an earth-shaking slam, turning the mud-slurry into a tidal wave that radiated outward in all directions, slattering anyone within range with mud, blood, and guts.
With the matron's body collapsing onto the ground, the swarm of Fever Fliers dispersed as though a hornet's nest had been disturbed, forming a massive death cloud before they flew out in every which way, shooting into things and people like a chitting bullet, abandoning any self-preservation to protect the main body. Not even the fever can overwrite these insects' core programming. The colony provides, and soldiers are to throw their lives away to protect it—everyone had a part to play.
While the swarm kept the attackers occupied, the matron let out a bone-chilling cry, silencing the thunder and the sounds of the ongoing battle.
Ś̵͖͓K̷̩̥͂R̴̠̊̚H̷̡̍E̵̤̾̎E̵̙̰̽E̴̟̥̕̚-̶͍́̉E̷͕̋ͅE̷͙͂E̵͔͠-̴̢̋̒E̶̢͕̊͗É̴̠̥̉E̵͔̬̅-̸̭̌̾E̸̡̫͒Ȩ̵̳͆É̸̜͓͠-̶̯̥͊E̷͉̓E̴̼̖̚E̵͓͒̓-̸̳͊E̷̢͇̿͛Ẻ̷͚̼̕Ȩ̷̘͆
With the heavy set of arms, the Kurungaar Mother lifted its body from the mudveil as it locked eyes with the ones who had volunteered to take the blame for the matron's fall. Using every functioning neck muscle it had left, the matron lifted its face to the sky.
It took seconds before a black orb began forming above its head as sparks of red lighting crackled across its smooth surface. As the orb quickly grew in size from the condensed energy, the red lightning formed a bridge between the orb and the ground. The battlefield grew darker as the matron drained some energy from the glowing vortex to power its attack.
The moment the matron lowered its head, the sphere followed and lingered in front of its face for less than a split second before transforming into a death beam that cut across the battlefield, passing over each and every one of those who had taunted the matron.
The vile energy tore the air asunder. Anyone unfortunate enough to stand in the way of the moving beam would have been instantly vaporized like the raindrop that evaporated seconds before the beam passed over them.
❰̶̛̜̟̼͗ ̴̢̝͒̃Ẇ̵̼̝̄͛̃ͅ ̷͓̝͍̠̃̚A̶̡͓͐ ̵̢̋́̓R̸̗̈́̊͜ ̸̨̘̦̬͑̋N̵͎̉͊ ̵͖͐I̷̝͔̋͘ ̴͇͚̲̪͆́͊N̷͎͊̍̈́ͅ ̸̝̾Ḡ̸͔͙̻̉̋ ̷̨̺̞̮̂̈❱̶̲̲͉̳̄͋❰̷ ̶W̶ ̶A̶ ̵R̷ ̴N̶ ̶I̸ ̷N̵ ̶G̴ ̸❱̴❰̵̛̼ ̴̯̈́W̸̩͗ ̵̦͠A̸͓̽ ̸̫̒R̸͎͗ ̴̱͒Ņ̴̀ ̸̼̿Ỉ̷͇ ̶̧̿N̵̲̓ ̶̢̽G̴̞͂ ̴̡̈❱̷̞̕❰̷̖̱͐ ̴̂̕ͅW̴̡͉̃ ̵̛̫Ả̸͔̖͂ ̸̫̏R̷̻͆ ̶̰̦̌N̴͚̲̂ ̷̣̳͛̆Ḭ̴̑̐ ̸͚̗͠N̸͈̪͗̓ ̷̣̾G̸͈̔ ̵̝̝͋͝❱̷̤͌ͅ
❰ T A N K · B U S T E R ❱
❰ GRIEVOUS · GUILLOTINE ❱
❰̶̛̜̟̼͗W̴̡͉̃ ̵̛̫Ả̸͔̖͂ ̸̫̏R̷̻͆ ̶̰̦̌N̴͚̲̂ ̷̣̳͛̆Ḭ̴̑̐ ̸͚̗͠N̸͈̪͗̓ ̷̣̾G̸͈̔ ̵̝̝͋͝❱̷̤͌ͅ❰̵̛̼ ̴̯̈́W̸̩͗ ̵̦͠A̸͓̽ ̸̫̒R̸͎͗ ̴̱͒Ņ̴̀ ̸̼̿Ỉ̷͇ ̶̧̿N̵̲̓ ̶̢̽G̴̞͂ ̴̡̈❱̷̕❰̷ ̶W̶ ̶A̶ ̵R̷ ̴N̶ ̶I̸ ̷N̵ ̶G̴ ̸❱̴❱̷̤͌ͅ ̴̢̝͒̃Ẇ̵̼̝̄͛̃ͅ ̷͓̝͍̠̃̚A̶̡͓͐ ̵̢̋́̓R̸̗̈́̊͜ ̸̨̘̦̬͑̋N̵͎̉͊ ̵͖͐I̷̝͔̋͘ ̴͇͚̲̪͆́͊N̷͎͊̍̈́ͅ ̸̝̾Ḡ̸͔͙̻̉̋ ̷̨̺̞̮̂̈❱̶̲̲͉̳̄͋❰̷̖͐ ̴̂̕ͅ
The public execution began for the taunters (
@Moonsong,
@Asher,
@Frey Elzeiros,
@Ilya,
@Sol, and
@The Guy) who could not withstand the blow. A different fate awaited
@Shane, who was, in fact, not in the path of the attack.
While the attack concentrated on the brave souls who taunted the matron, the beam passed over the entire squad of attackers in a swift move that may have turned the tide of battle. With the beam flattening at least half of the cone, everyone was frantically assessing the damage done. Others, meanwhile, were in a frenzy to locate their missing allies or what was left of them after the devasting beam.
Order would have collapsed entirely had it not been for the likes of the Lion leaders: Levi and Misha; the whistles: Childress, Feodan, and Arlynl; and the lone Guild representative together with Kiryuu and a very displaced Chad taking charge of what they could, gathering what allies they could to deliver the coup de grâce on the death titan if fate would take kindly on them.
Misha! Take your team and escort the support now.
The calm and collected knight leader quickly took charge of the situation and began to organize the surviving lions to focus entirely on protecting the supports, escorting them through the battlefield to heal the injured and raise the dead.
Right away, commander! (She formed a fist and put it on her heart.)
Ehe! You heard the commander, no pay for this month unless we work hard!
(To which many of the lions stopped and thought to themselves '…but we don't even get paid…' Heroism was difficult, indeed.)
The whistles, meanwhile, had already begun planning the assault on the immobile matron. Feodan and Arlyn shot a magical flare into the sky to amass a strike team that would head into battle. They weren't suicidal, however. Childress was already thinking ahead about how she and her team could open a path for the rest of the assaulting group to make it through without losing too many people to the thrashing matron and the swarm that would rip a person apart the moment they get too close.
I... I can't, Chad. Not like this. Not without my cat...
(...)
OOOOOOOH NOOOOOOOOOOO! NOT WITHOUT MY CAT! THIS AIN'T IT, BABYCHAD! (he ducks below an arm sweep.)
HANG ON, BROTHER-MAN. WE CAN DO THIS! SHE'S WAITING FOR YOU BACK AT THE CAMP!
...You don't understand. THERE'S NO WAY I - UGHAHLDTGL--!! (an unidentified flying object suddenly crashed against the king, and he dramatically rolled back as he caught it.)
As he lay there and pondered the meaning of life while recovering from the sudden impact, he could see a familiar shape flying past them. While he couldn't hear her from such a distance, the fact he could somewhat make out her voice amidst the chaos meant it could only be Regan. The king's eyebrows furrowed as he sat and up and looked below, and on his arms was...
A doll. Marvelous goldilocks drills adorned her head, and the ever grumpy visage kicked the king's engine into high gear again. The joint radiance of
@Cynna's forehead and Trevis' grin shone upon the matron's face like the stars above, acting as a nod back to
@Regan.
OOOOOOHAH! INDEED, BABYDOLL! OUR GOLD IS THE COIN THAT WILL PIERCE THE HEA --- UGHJALKSFLK!-- (and yet again, he rolled across the ground, this time pulled by a spectral chain.)
If you've got the energy to be shouting like that, then help me over here!!
...
Meanwhile, Chad watched the scene unfold, speechless. His mighty shoulders deflated as the king was dragged away, his efforts thus far crumbling before him like a cookie,
... Nyan?
A safe distance away from the half-flattened cone…
Horrid insects.
This was the mathematicians' first time seeing so many insects and an attack so powerful it nearly wiped out the frontliners as well…
To be brought out here like this. It wasn't what she was built for, to say the least. Yet even if she was uncomfortable with it, the numbers led her here, and they would lead everyone to victory. She did not doubt that even after witnessing the beam divide the fighting force in half and change the geometry of the cone pit. Regardless, she concentrated on the highly unique task she and her junior peers had been charged with.
"Nin Nin! We're almost ready! Where does this go? Once I finish up some maintenance on the directional turret, we just need the bombs, and it'll be coo-coo for cocoa puffs!!
Nin's thoughts were interrupted by Elynn, but she didn't even scold her over the nickname this time. This time there was not even a millisecond for such division. The preparations had come along nicely. It was time to see how it all added up!
"Yes, excellent! We do not need bombs. It's already fully loaded Elynn.
(Nin smiled, ignoring the fact they were in the middle of a bug-infested hellscape for a moment.)
The mind has not yet finished with this red menace! All of these insects are now set for deletion! Haha! I never doubted the sum for a moment.
Nin's eyes looked upon the flowing substance within the Serenity Cannon. This was... not the safest measure by a long shot, but they had no choice, and this would also assist Nin's future research. However, they had to survive this first. No matter the negatives!
"
@Kaede Hoshi @Corsair @Fiora Di Angelo @Celestine, and
@Pollux! 14000 divided by 2 is not an acceptable quota. The time has come to show the power of the Serenity Cannon! We have to gather others to fire it. The mixture within this is a far more volatile mix of the mist used on us. It will be extremely hazardous if we misfire and take quite some energy even to use...
(She adjusted her glasses as her voice became slightly shaky)
Overuse could be fatal. So please only one addition from all who take the controls.
The makeshift Serenity Cannons were complete, five of them in fact, allowing anyone with a modicum of aim to deal considerable damage to the enraged matron. The only problem was…
The cannons were broken because of the concentrated energy that had resulted from the nasty attack. The MIT was going to have to put their head together again to troubleshoot before the cannons can be used.
"Oh my god! It's a bug! We're all going to dieeee!"
(Elynn panicked when she realized what had happened.)
Deep within the matron's backfold was
@Shane, who had lost any semblance of shape. It was difficult to tell where the boundary of her physical form stopped, and the matron's began. The glowing girl was no longer fully herself, capable of muddled thoughts, yet incapable of speech or action, a monument to the hubris of man who think they can master the unknowns. Reminiscing was about the only thing she could do as she awaited her terrible fate.
With everything going on at once, the matron lifted its head again and expelled a massive black orb from its mouth. The orb, which took the shape of the attack from earlier, floated up about 100 feet above it, slowly collecting the visible radiance of the magical vortex that had provided light for the battle up until now. Anyone within or without the conal recess could feel the subtle movement of winds being sucked into the orb, which began to amass in size.
